How to Successfully Hire Your First Freelancer

In today’s Gig economy, many businesses strive to minimize costs and onboarding time by hiring freelancers, especially when the organization is first establishing itself as a startup. However, finding individuals with the necessary background to meet the needs of your organization can be quite the challenge. Specialized technical or creative projects often call for an uncommon blend of education, skills and experience, so a strategic approach is vital for locating exceptional short-term employees.

HR specialists must explore all options and then narrow the candidates down to the individuals who will be ready to hit the ground running. A well-written job posting is essential to finding those qualified freelancers and minimizing the time HR spends sorting through the resumes of people who lack the necessary abilities or knowledge to move a project efficiently toward completion. A carefully considered job description, combined with automated staffing software that provides robust tools for searching and matching applicants, will help to find great workers who maintain the company’s momentum toward its goals.

Consider where to post your vacancy

“Put a social recruiting strategy into action to find the very best freelancers.”

The first step in catching the attention of freelancers is determining where to advertise the position. Depending on your organization’s needs, you might get the best results from posting in an online marketplace with a huge variety of workers from all over the world, looking for someone who can fulfill your requirements at the lowest possible expense. On the other hand, if you require someone who can work on-site or who has very particular advanced skills, you’ll be better served by a more narrowly directed approach.

Posting on job boards specifically geared toward experts in a field such as web development or content creation will often yield more seasoned, reliable candidates. By putting a social recruiting strategy into action, you will be able to find the best individuals to take on projects at your organization.

Set clear expectations

Wherever you choose to search for applicants, you will get the best outcomes by clearly laying out exactly what you are looking for in a freelance employee and providing key details about how your business operates. The more specific you are in describing the demands of the project and anticipated timeline, the more effectively candidates can create proposals and set cost estimates.

Give precise, bulleted lists of the responsibilities involved in the job and the competencies your new hire will need to possess. Keep in mind that you may need to have some flexibility about your requirements when hiring freelancers. Early in the process, distinguish between the aspects of their background that are essential to completing the project and others which would just be nice to have in a worker.

Request work samples

A cover letter, resume, and a social media profile can tell you a lot about an applicant. You want to hire a freelancer that can deliver an excellent finished product, so always request portfolios or work samples from them. Once you have narrowed down the possibilities, closely examine their materials before you make the final decision on who to hire.

Take advantage of powerful recruitment tools

When a company is looking for its first freelancers, it’s important to have a fast, optimized process in place. Advanced recruitment software like Hiring Logistics offers the necessary tools to move your company more speedily from advertising a vacancy to onboarding a freelancer who is well-suited to the job immediately. Hiring Logistics integrates a wide range of the functions involved in finding quality workers into the Salesforce platform, including smart matching, automated scheduling, and modules for managing compliance and payroll.

The Ultimate Guide to Building Your Dream Team

The idea of oursourcing recruitment and hiring might seem counterintuitive at first. In a recent survey of human resources executives, 44% say their biggest challenge with talent recruitment is that they cannot find the right candidates, and nearly the same number say the process is to lengthy. A successful recruitment agency or staffing firm already has best practices and strategies in place for working with the right candidates.

With an expert partner who understands your strategy and priorities, recruitment can be more effective, reducing cost per hire and increasing operational efficiencies.

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Mobile Recruiting 101

Mobile isn’t the way of the future: It’s the way right now. There are now more than mobile devices in the work than people. But more important than the number of devices out there is how people are using these tools. Mobile devices have transformed the way people interact in the digital world, allowing individuals to gain real-time insights that were never before possible and quickly connect with others across the world.

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The Right Technology is More Important than Ever

A successful recruitment agency or staffing firm already has best practices and strategies in place for working with the right candidates. However, as the global workforce evolves, organizations need tools that will allow them to adapt and maximize their efforts.

These shifts can contain challenges, but also opportunities. Professionals working with flexible, user-friendly technology can meet new demands faster than the competition.

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Executive Forum North America 2016

February 22-25, 2016Phoenix, Arizona

Executive Forum North America has been the premier executive staffing event for 25 years. Why? The conference gives leaders from staffing firms of all sizes an annual opportunity to gather and share successes, learn about the latest trends and technology, and get inspired to take their firms to the next level. We hope you can join us for this special silver anniversary celebration of where the industry has been, where it is now and where it is going.

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Recruitment Agency Expo 2016

February 3-4, 2016Olympia London

Now in it’s 5th successful year, the Recruitment Agency Expo is the leading exhibition and conference for senior decision makers working within recruitment agencies nationwide. With 28 free to attend seminars, 14 free training sessions, the Recruitment Agency Expo is set to be the most important event in your 2016 calendar.

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Free Staffing Software Evaluation Kit

We know it can be difficult to discern exactly what your organization needs from a staffing software without having some guidance. That is why we’ve put together a requirements document that uses a fictional staffing firm to address all the requirements you may need. Once you know these musthaves, you can decide on the best software option to make more placements and to achieve business growth goals.

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Brought to you by the American Staffing Association, Staffing World is the largest, most comprehensive convention and expo in the staffing, recruiting, and workforce solutions industry. Each year, thousands of industry executives, professionals, leaders, and innovators convene for this must-attend event. Explore the latest products and services your firm needs to sharpen its competitive edge. Shop leading industry suppliers for two-plus days. Test products, compare services, and make deals.

Join us for an afternoon of drinks, food, and networking at San Francisco’s award-winning wine bar and lounge. In addition to free food and wine, we will have a handful of flat screen TV’s streaming Dreamforce Live throughout the Press Club.